Eva Valesh was only 22 when she first went undercover to report on women workers in the 1880s for the St. Paul Globe. She wrote under the pseudonym Eva Gay. Each week, she would either sneak into a workplace to speak to the workers, or she would simply fabricate her references and apply to a job herself. She visited clothing factories, laundries, dress-shops, dry goods stores, and food factories. Often, she encountered women being exploited or working in dangerous conditions. Eva fought for the workers and helped them fight for themselves.

In this episode, reporter Ben Heath explores Valesh’s work, and the role of investigative journalism on the labor movement of the late 19th century.

Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. Season 7 of the MinneCulture podcast is edited and executive produced by Julie Censullo and hosted by John Gebretatose.